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Police increase patrols, I-DOT considers barriers on MLK & McKinley Bridges

Thirteen people have died in accidents on the King Bridge since 1998. (photo: Matt Sepic)

By Matt Sepic, KWMU

East St. Louis, Ill. – Police in the Metro East are increasing patrols on the McKinley and Martin Luther King Bridges in an effort to eliminate fatal accidents.

Both spans are narrow. Three people were killed in separate accidents on the King bridge last year. There have been two fatal crashes on the McKinley since it reopened in 2007.

Mary Lamie, the District 8 deputy director for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said better signs and rumble strips will be installed soon. But she said it's too early to tell if concrete or cable barriers can be installed safely on the King bridge.

"There's a 900-foot section of the bridge deck that's a steel grid section," Lamie said. "It does a great job of supporting traffic. But if you start punching holes in it to install the anchorage system, it starts to offer some structural integrity issues."

Lamie also said cable barriers can pose an additional danger on such a narrow span, because out-of-control vehicles may bounce into traffic. As for the McKinley Bridge, Lamie said there's no room for a barrier of any kind because the bridge is only two lanes wide.

She said a safety and engineering study of both bridges will be finished by the summer. After that, it'll be up to the Illinois Legislature to fund any proposed improvements.

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